Butterflies of Oregon and Washington

In these pages I have tried to share my observations about our local butterfly species. I hope others will come to get as much enjoyment out of these unique insects.

Dennis Deck
Tigard, OR

• Families: A description of the 5 major families of butterflies with representative examples from Oregon. This is good place for beginners to start.
• Species: A visual guide to many of the butterfly species found in Oregon. My intent is to supplement the fine guides that are available for our area. Any single guide can include only a couple small photos of each species.
• Behavior: An overview of the common types of behavior that the casual observer will see if they pause a minute to watch. When you watch butterflies more carefully, you will quickly realize that their actions are anything but random.
• Life Cycle:
The adult male and female butterflies copulate. The female finds the host plant abd lays eggs which hatch into a caterpillar. The caterpillar molts its skin to grow larger. It forms a crysalis and eventually emerges as an adult butterfly.
• References: An annotated reference list of field guides and other references used in the preparation of these pages.

All photos by Dennis Deck unless otherwise stated. Copyright 2020.